Footwear garment, method of manufacture and knitting machine

ABSTRACT

A sock type garment adapted for wearing on a wearer foot including a sole ( 3 ), partial upper foot ( 5 ), a heel ( 8, 9 ) and a toe ( 11, 12 ) wherein said heel and toe are shaped to assist accommodation of the respective parts of the wearers foot characterised in that an opening ( 4 ) for insertion of the wearers foot is provided intermediate of said heel and toe in the region of the partial upper foot.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is the U.S. National Stage Application ofInternational Application PCT/AU99/00814, filed Sep. 24, 1999, whichinternational application was published on Apr. 13, 2000 asInternational Publication WO 00/19846 in the English language. TheInternational Application claims priority of Australian ApplicationPP6282, filed Oct. 1, 1998.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to hosiery, socks and similar garments and inparticular relates to an improved footlet type sock adapted forconcealment by a wearer's footwear during use. The invention alsorelates to an improved knitting machine, method of operation and methodof manufacture of said garment

Discreet footwear garments, where a small sock or stocking covering onlythe wearer's foot region below the ankle, have become popular fashionaccessories which allow a wearer to enjoy the benefits of footprotection but which become fully concealed once the wearer fits shoesor other footwear.

To date, such garments, known as footlets or socklets have beendeveloped from sheer hosiery technology where the substantialflexibility of the medium allows a very generic or unshaped unit to fitall feet. Such items have been manufactured to date from the provisionof an initial pattern or garment blank in the form of a short “tube” ofsheer hosiery material which is closed at the bottom with a seam andprovided with an elastic welt at the top to form an opening. In use,such garments are fitted by placing the user's foot into the opening andpulling the unshaped garment over the foot so as to conform to the shapeof the wearer's foot by stretching. Such prior art garments suffer fromnumerous problems, in particular the bottom seam can be an irritation tothe wearer and the lack of preshaping of the garment provides a lessthan ideal fit to any given wearer. Furthermore, such garments areexposed to high levels of material stress at the toe regions where thegreatest elasticity and stretch occur.

In another form, similar prior art garments have been developed withouta lower seam by providing an oval-shaped flat garment blank which hassowing fitted to its circumference causing the garment to pucker anddraw up into a general shower cap shape. Whilst this method ofmanufacture provides a seamless garment which some advantages, thegarment is still not shaped to conform in any way to the user's foot andrequires considerable stretching to fit with the resultant stresses andlimited durability associated with the previously discussed garments.

In addition to the above limitations the currently available garmentsmust, by necessity, be made of highly compliant materials to allow theuser's foot to stretch the garment into the correct shape. Accordingly,such garments are only made in a limited range of materials and the fullpotential of the garment has not been explored to date.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides a sock type garmentadapted for wearing on a wearer's foot including a sole, a heel and atoe wherein said heel and toe are shaped to assist accommodation of therespective parts of the wearer's foot characterised in that an openingfor insertion of the wearer's foot is provided intermediate of said heeland toe.

The regions of the heel and toe may be shaped into pockets. The garmentmay have a partial upper foot adjacent said sole.

The opening is preferably formed across the heel top, toe top andpartial upper foot of said garment.

The opening may have a knitted hem or elastic means fitted to said heeltop and said toe top to assist snug fitting of garment and finish offthe heel top and toe top region. The heel may include a heel one sectionformed by a picking up stitch and a heel two section formed by alternatepicking up and picking down stitch with the heel one and heel twosection being seamlessly and continuously joined and separated by apicking line so formed.

The sole of the garment may be formed as a knitted continuum of the heeland leading to a knitted continuum with the toe.

The toe may include a toe one section formed by a picking up stitch anda toe two section formed by alternate picking up and picking down stitchwith the toe one and toe two sections being seamlessly and continuouslyjoined and separated by a picking line so formed.

The heel one section may be of sufficient size to substantially coverthe wearer's heel and the toe one section may be any size from a partialtoe covering to a cover for the bulk of the wearer's upper foot.

The garment may be constructed of a wide range of stitch form materialsincluding hosiery materials used in the manufacture of stockings andpantyhose and/or knitting yarns, wool, cotton, nylon and any materialsavailable for sock manufacture.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method of manufacturing asock type garment including a sole, a heel and a toe region with anintermediate opening between said heel and toe region bordered by thetop of the sole or partial upper foot and the heel top and toe top; themethod including the use of a knitting machine to form the heel regionof said garment beginning with the formation of the heel one section bypick up stitching then transferring to heel two section by alternatepick up and pick down stitching, the sole of the garment and partialupper foot are then formed followed by alternate pick up and pick downstitching to form the toe two section then transferring to the toe onesection by pick up stitching only. The garment may be finished by aknitted and shaped elastic edge or ridge over the heel top, toe top andthe top of the sole or upper foot. The elastic ridge may be formed withtransfer needle selection only to achieve the elastic ridge. The machinedial transfer need not be used.

The sock type garment can alternatively be manufactured beginning at thetoe region and moving to the heel region.

The method of manufacture may begin with the preparation of an elasticbraid forming the toe top. The toe one part of the garment is formedwith the knitting machine back pickers in action and by selectivecancellation thereof so as to form the required number of pick upstitches with a progressive decrease taking one needle per side offevery second course. When the toe one is completed the knitting machinefront pickers come into action selectively returning needles held inmemory, so called pick down stitches, providing an alternate preparationof stitching progressively adding courses until the toe region isformed. The unique ability to progressively control the back and frontpickers by cancellation allows the method of manufacture to produce afully formed one piece seamless garment without interruption in onecontinuous operation. Once the toe region is formed the pickers can becancelled without interference to the pre-programmning of the needlesand the partial upper foot and sole of the garment can be formed as adirect continuation of the toe region. The foot region can be made aslong as required then the heel region is ready to be formed. The backpickers are bought into action to selectively place needles into memory,so called pick up stitches, providing a series of stitches with aprogressive drop in stitches toward the heel, the front picker thenbegins to add on stitches to form progressive pickup stitching so as toform a seamless heel region. The heel is then completed by forming anelastic ridge.

In another aspect the invention provides a modified knitting machineincluding a mounted rotatable cylinder having a series of closely spacedneedles located in annular slots said machine being provided with needleoperating cams, two back pickers for placing selected needles intomemory and at least one front picker for returning needles from memorycharacterised in having cancellation means to selectively cancel thefunction of said back picker and/or said front picker within a givencycle.

The back pickers may be provided in left or right configuration tocooperate with the alternate counter clockwise and clockwise rotation ofsaid cylinder. The back cancellation means may act on either or bothback pickers and preferably acts in lifting the picker needle arm awayfrom interaction with said needle. The front cancellation means may actby lowering the picker needle arm away from interaction with saidneedle.

The cancellation means may be activated by a programmable switchingmeans which comprises microswitches operable from a cam or other means.The microswitches, or a mechanical equivalent, activate air cylinders orthe like which cooperate with a mechanical means to operate thecancellation means. The inclusion of such a cancellation means allowsthe pre-programmed operation of the back and front pickers to beinterrupted at will without interfering with the needles. In this mannera selected number of needles can be held in memory for instant recallwithout interfering with the knitting thereby providing greatly extendedmodes of operation of a knitting machine. In order to assist thecontinuous operation of the machine the cylinder 20 is provided with anumber of “dummy” needles being non functioning needles placed into thecylinder but which have been modified by removal of the hook endthereof.

The modified knitting machine is particularly adapted for manufacture ofthe improved footwear garment as described and claimed in the currentapplication. In particular the modified machine allows the production ofa seamless garment moving from a fully formed toe region to an extendedseamless sole and partial upper foot and then into a fully formed heelregion in one continuous operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be further described by reference to FIGS. 1 to 21with:

FIG. 1 shows a prior art conventional sock.

FIG. 2 shows a prior art footlet having a seamed sole.

FIG. 3 shows a seamless prior art footlet

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the garment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the garment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the garment of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a side view indicating a preferred stitch pattern.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic plan view of a modified knitting machine of theinvention showing the front and back cancellation means and switchingmeans.

FIG. 9 shows a side view (section 9—9FIG. 8) of the cancellationswitching means.

FIG. 10 shows an enlarged plan view of the modified knitting machineshowing the cancellation means acting on the back and front pickermechanisms.

FIG. 11 shows a cross section (11—11FIG. 10) of the machine cylinderwith a needle that is positioned for non-use.

FIG. 12 shows a side view (in direction of arrow 12—12FIG. 10) of thefront picker mechanism with cancellation means not functioning (thefront pickers normally return any needles from memory into action).

FIG. 13 shows the front picker mechanism with cancellation meansfunctioning so as to prevent the front picker returning the needles frommemory into action.

FIG. 14 shows a front view (in direction of arrow 14—14FIG. 12) of thefront picker mechanism with the cancellation means.

FIG. 15 shows a needle butt path when the front picker is functioningnormally (in direction of arrow 15—15 FIG. 12).

FIG. 16 shows the needle butt path following the needle operating camswhen in normal knitting pattern (in direction of arrow 16—16 FIG. 10).

FIG. 17 shows the needle butt path partially following the needleoperating cams with some needles held in memory.

FIG. 18 shows a plan view of the back pickers in reverse orientationwhen knitting back rows.

FIG. 19 shows a view of the cancellation means (in direction of arrow19—19FIG. 18) not in use and allowing a back picker needle arm to drawneedles into memory.

FIG. 20 shows the needle arm cam.

FIG. 21 shows the cancellation means when in use lifting as the backpicker arm and allowing the needle butt path to resume normal knitting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring firstly to FIG. 1, an overview of the construction of a priorart generic sock is shown where the sock comprises an opening 4 at thetop for insertion of a wearer's foot, followed by a welt region 17providing elasticity and grip to the leg of the wearer. The welt isterminated by a transfer band 18 which defines the boundary with the topleg region 19 followed by the leg region. The heel region begins withthe high heel region just before the formation of the heel pocket andbody of the sock. The heel pocket is made up of various sectionsincluding the heel one section 8 which is constructed by pick upstitching only. The heel one section 8 transfers continuously into theheel two section 9 by alteration of the stitching to a pick up and pickdown stitching and the transition zone creates what is known as a“picking line” 10. Once the heel pocket 1, being made up of the heel oneand heel two sections has been formed, the stitching continues along tothe sole 3 with an upper foot region 5 being formed as a continuation ofthe high heel and adjacent the sole 3. The terminal end of the sockforms the toe pocket 2 which is made up of a toe one section 11 formedby pick up stitching only which transfers into a toe two section 12being formed by the alternate pick up and pick down stitching with thetransitional picking line 10 being formed.

In the manufacture of a standard sock, the toe region is initiallyformed on the knitting machine as an open construction with the upperfoot and sole regions meeting the ring toe section and toe one, toe twosections respectively where the ring toe and toe two section isterminated by a linking stitch and finished off with a run out stitch.The final step in manufacture of the sock involves the placement of therun out in a dedicated seaming machine which effects the sowing up orseaming of the linking region along the toe pocket and the cutting offof the run out. This step finalises the formation of the toe pocket 2 bythe formation of a ring toe seam 18. The manufacture of socks in thismanner is well known to the art and accomplished by a wide range ofreadily available knitting machines which can make use of a wide rangeof fabrics and materials in the preparation and manufacture of socks.

The invention relates in particular to a smaller version of a sock knownas a footlet or socklet which are intended to cover just the foot regionof a wearer's anatomy without involving any cover of the leg so as toprovide a foot garment that can be totally disguised when the wearerplaces on shoes or other footwear.

The currently available garments of this type are shown in FIGS. 2 and3. Referring to FIG. 2, one of the prior art garments can be seen to beconstructed of a continuous tubing of hosiery 14 which is sealed off atthe bottom with a seaming sole 15 and provided with an elasticisedopening 4. As previously discussed, such prior art garments are notshaped in any manner and rely on the high stretching and elasticity ofhosiery fabric for a wearer's foot to be inserted in the opening so asto substantially deform the garment and fit onto the wearer's foot. Itwould not be possible to manufacture such a garment from conventionalsock materials like wool or cotton as these materials do not providesufficient elasticity.

Referring to FIG. 3, an alternative prior art garment is formed bycreating a cut-out blank of oval or circular formation which is gatheredaround its periphery by an elastic means 13 which is tensioned so as todraw up or pucker the whole construction into a seamless body 16providing an opening 4. This prior art garment provides some improvementon the previously described prior art garment but still does not provideany pre-shaping in accordance with the wearer's foot and suffers frommany of the difficulties of the previously described prior art garment.

Referring now to FIG. 4, one aspect of the invention is shown in aperspective view and the garment can be seen to comprise a fully andcarefully shaped footlet sock or miniature sock which is adapted forwearing on a wearer's foot and includes a sole 3 forming a substantialpart of the base of the garment. A shaped heel 1 and a shaped toe 2 areprovided at either end and an opening 4 intermediate of the heel and toesuch that the user's foot can be readily inserted into the opening intothe substantially preformed and shaped toe pocket and heel region in amanner that allows the garment to immediately and snugly fit to theuser's foot.

The garment of the invention may further be provided with a partialupper foot region 5 which is not fully closed over in the manner of aconventional sock in order to protect the side of the wearer's foot. Theopening 4 is formed across the heel top 7 and toe top 6 and the partialupper foot 5. The opening may be provided with elastic means 13,particularly across the toe top region 6 and the heel top region 7 inorder to assist the shaping of the garment to create a very snug andconformational fit to a wearer's foot. The elastic means is formed as anintegral part of the garment during the knitting operation and istapered to nothing as the top region 6 of the toe or heel migrates intothe partial upper foot 5. The garment of the invention is formed withthe use of standard knitting machines which may be suitably modified inaccordance with the current invention and comprises many of theanatomical features of a standard sock, albeit in a highly novelconfiguration. The heel pocket 1 is shaped by the provision of a heelone section 8 which is formed by a picking up stitch only; the heel onesection seamlessly moves into the heel two section 9 by the alterationof the stitching to include alternate picking up and picking downstitches, resulting in the formation of the picking line 10 and causingthe garment to fold around to form the heel pocket 1. Similarly, the toetwo can be formed as a pocket shaped unit 2 with a toe one section 12formed by a picking up stitch only which translates into a toe twosection 11 by the alteration of the stitching to alternate picking upand picking down stitch and the resultant picking line 10. In thismanner, the two sections of the heel and toe and the foot are formedseamlessly and continuously in one piece.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a plan view of the garment of the invention isshown where the particular features of shaping of the unit are clearlyevident with the heel pocket 1 shaped to accommodate the heel of thewearer with the added provision of elastic 13 across the heel top 7. Theheel one section 8 can be seen to form the upper region of the heel withthe heel two section 9 forming the sides and lower part of the heelwhich is formed continuously with the sole 3. The toe pocket 2 issimilarly shaped and more elongate than the heel pocket 1 and is formedof the toe one section 12 forming the upper or covering component of thegarment terminating in the toe top 6 with the sides and lower part ofthe toe being formed from the toe two section 11. Similarly, the toe twosection 11 merges with the sole 3 so as to form a completely seamlessbut carefully crafted and shaped one piece garment without any jointsfor fitting to a user's foot of any size.

The size of the toe one section 12 can be varied to accommodatedifferent types of garments, either for covering just the toes of awearer or can be extended to move further up the garment to cover alarger part of the upper foot of the wearer. The elasticised reinforcedtoe top 6 and heel top 7 is a preferred feature only as the substantialshaping and conformation of the garment per se, provides ready fittingand snug engagement of a user's foot; however, the elastic 13 at the toetop and heel top region can assist in maintaining a snug fit The elasticis most preferably not carried forth along the partial upper foot 5 asit is not necessary to have any elasticised fitting on this region,being the side of a user's foot Furthermore, such elastic in that regionmay be an irritation to the wearer. The method of manufacture allows thefoot region to be formed of any length to provide a range of garmentsizes. FIG. 6 shows a side view of the garment and FIG. 7 shows thepreferred stitch pattern of the garment. The method of manufacture alsoallows for the tapering of the elastic region 13 which reduces to zeroalong the upper foot.

In another aspect the invention provides modifications to a standardknitting machine and a reference to the remaining FIGS. 8 to 21 providedetails of a particularly preferred embodiment including modificationsto a standard knitting machine and the performance thereof whichprovides for the first time, the ability to economically and efficientlyexercise the method of the invention in the production of the improvedfootwear garment as previously described. Referring firstly to FIGS. 8,9 and 10 plan and side views of the top region of the knitting machineas shown with FIGS. 8 and 10 providing schematic plan views of theautomated knitting machine in question. Such automated knitting machinescomprise a vertically mounted rotatable cylinder 20. The cylinder housesa plurality of closely spaced vertical needles 21 located in annularslots formed therein. Such machines function in a known manner byrotating the vertical cylinder in a clockwise and anti-clockwise cyclicfashion with the needles 21 being fed thread and activated by way ofneedle knitting cams 22 so as to effect standard knitting functions inthe manufacture of socks and the like garments which are formed down thehollow centre of the cylinder 20 in the manner determined by theprogramming of the machine. Such machines are provided with two backpickers in the form of a left picker 23 and a right picker 24 whichfunction to selectively lift up the needles 21 into a non operating ormemory mode. The left and right pickers include picker needle arm 29Awhich operate alternatively to act on the needles 21 when the cylinderis rotating in the clockwise and anti-clockwise direction respectively.In addition, standard knitting machines are provided with at least onefront picker 25 which is adapted for returning needles that have beenplaced in memory back into action. The picker needle arm 29A operates asa single picker arm functioning in both clockwise and anti-clockwisemotions of the cylinder. The standard operation of a knitting machineallows for the action of the picker arms and needle knitting cams in apreset function but does not allow for the in mode alteration andintermittent cancellation of the functions of the back and front pickermechanisms. This limitation to standard knitting machines imposeslimitations on the ability of such machines to manufacture garmentsincorporating various features such as a seamless continuum and inparticular the ability of selectively alter the knitting functions midcycle without interrupting the machines continuous operation. Theinvention provides cancellation means for both back and front pickerswith the back cancellation means 27 operating in conjunction with theleft back picker 23 as a pivoting lever which works by lifting up thepicker arm 29 away from interaction with the needles such that at anypoint in time the normal function of the back picker, which is to placea selection of needles 21 into memory can be cancelled withoutinterruption to the normal functioning of the needle and by leaving theneedles so selected in a position ready for operation. The front pickerfunctions of the standard machine can similarly be cancelled byoperation of the front cancellation means 26 such that the normal modeof action of the front picker which is to draw needles held in memoryback into action can be cancelled such that selective needles can beretained in memory rather than drawn out of memory as is the usualfunction.

The back and front cancellation means are activated eitherelectronically or mechanically by a cancellation switching means 28which is shown in side view in FIG. 9. The cancellation switching meanscomprises a cam and electronically operated microswitchs 30 which areable to affect the operation, at will, of the cancellation means 27 and26 by suitable programming. The cancellation switching means is ofcourse fully programmable in accordance with the requirements of theoperator and suitable programmning of the modified knitting machineprovides a ready means of manufacture of the improved foot garment aspreviously described. The positioning of the needle as previouslydescribed is shown in FIG. 11.

Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, the operation of the front picker, andin particular, the cancellation means acting thereon, is shown indetail. As previously described the front picker provides a pickerneedle arm 29B adapted for cooperation with the butt ends 30 of needles,two at a time, as they are rotated past by the action of the cylinder20. The normal function of the front picker is to collect needles thathave been placed in memory, that is needles that have been elevated inthe raised position as indicated. Such needles that are so positioned inthe cylinder 20 as the cylinder rotates past the front picker aregathered by the elevated picker needle arm 29B. The picker needle arm29B rests on a picker cam 37 which is shown in more detail in FIG. 14.As the needle 21 passes the front picker, the needle butts 30 of needlesheld in memory interact with the picker needle arm drawing the armeither left or right depending on the direction of rotation and in sodoing, draw the needles out of memory as they are pulled down to thesecond position shown in phantom. The cancellation means 26 of theinvention acting on the front picker takes the form of a lever 35 whichis activated by an air cylinder 31. The lever 35 interacts with thepicker needle arm axle 36 to suspend the picker needle arm 29B in aneutral position as shown in FIG. 13 when the front cancellation meansis activated. FIG. 15 demonstrates a view of the needle butt path 32.The needle butt path 32 is shown in the direction of arrow 15—15 of FIG.12.

Reverting now to the back cancellation means, FIGS. 16 and 17 show aview of the needle knitting cams 22 and the needle butt path 32 (33) asit passes through the knitting cams. FIG. 16 shows a schematicrepresentation of the normal knitting pattern and FIG. 17 shows aschematic view of a needle pattern with the needle butt path drawn intomemory 33 by the action of the back picker. The action of the backcancellation means can be seen where the needle butt path has revertedto the normal knitting pattern 32 in FIG. 17. In this manner the needlebutt path placed in memory can be instantaneously drawn out of memory atwill and in accordance with the programming of the cancellationswitching means 28. Referring now to FIG. 18 a plan view is shown of theback picker mechanism where the left back picker 23 has been drawn intoaction for cooperation of the relevant picker needle arm 29 with theneedles when the cylinder 20 is rotating in a clockwise direction. Theleft and right back pickers act alternately and are held in coordinatedrelationship by the tie rod 40.

FIG. 19 shows a front view of the rear cancellation mechanism drawn indirection of arrow 19—19 of FIG. 18. The positioning of the needleoperating cams 22 is shown with the alternate normal needle butt path 32and needle butt path in memory 33 detailed. The position of the backpicker needle arm 29A is shown. In this mode the back cancellation means27 is inactive and is not cooperating with the back picker needle arm29A which is left to function in the normal capacity dependant on theprogramming of the knitting machine. Referring now to FIG. 21 the backcancellation means 27 shows the back cancellation means in actionwhereby the air cylinder 31 is withdrawn allowing the back cancellationmeans to lift up thereby cooperating with the back picker needle arm 29Aand lifting it out of action so as to cancel the affect of placing theneedles into memory thereby diverting freely at will the needle buttpath to the normal path in contrast to the memory path.

Referring to FIG. 20 a view in direction of arrow 20—20 of FIG. 18 showsthe needle arm cam 34 which operates to place the picker needle arm 29Ainto the relevant position for normal operation.

In order to further assist the knitting machine a selection of so called“dummy” needles are prepared The dummy needles are standard needlesmodified by removal of the hook end. The placement of dummy needles intothe knitting machine in selected positions assist the machine tofunction in a continuous manner throughout a number of functions withoutrisking non-functional needles catching during threading.

In use the modified knitting machine of the invention can be broughtinto operation to perform the novel knitting method of the invention forconstruction of the improved footwear garment as previously described inone particularly preferred embodiment. The improved knitting machine canof course be applied to a wide variety of knitting operations and is notin any way limited to functioning in the manner only of producing theimproved footwear garment of the invention.

In use the improved knitting machine of the invention provides a readymeans of manufacturing an improved footwear garment, particularly in themanner of a highly efficient seamless and fully formed footwear garmentas previously described.

A particularly preferred application of the improved knitting machine ofthe invention will now be described.

EXAMPLE 1

An improved footwear garment in the form of a ladies size with a mediumgauge will use a cylinder 20 of 3¾ diameter with 188 needles. Of the 188needles only 121 are functioning and the remaining 67 are incorporatedwithout hooks and latches with a third of the top of the needle omittedin order to render the needle functionless on a high position (dummyneedle). The sewing operation is commenced with a preparation of a chainprogram. Two moves of the chain program are commenced with needles beingselected and forming stitches of elastic followed with one or more plainlinks which are determined in accordance with the quality width andlength of the garment elastic braid 13. The elastic braid 13 is formedas an integral part of the knitting operation in accordance with themethod of the invention. The braid is formed by the alternate cycles ofthe machine providing alternate one up, one down needle configurationsat one turn and the needles being all at knitting height on the returncycle. The machine commences with three cycles of normal selection andthen the selection changes and leaves unselected 13 needles on one sideand 11 on the other side. By working 10 turns to the left and 10 turnsto the right, the elastic braid 13 is finished in the form of a neatlyprepared braid tapering down for commencement of the partial upper foot.Once the elastic braid is formed the preparation of the toe one 12 ofthe garment is commenced with the back pickers in action. The toe onesection of the garment is formed with pick-up stitches, that is,stitches drawn up into memory, and with a progressive decreasing takingone needle per side off every second course of stitches and hold astitch in memory to be reused when stitching is progressively increasedin preparation of the toe two region. The preparation of the toe tworegion involves an increase of two stitches per course up until thepartial upper foot region 5 is reached. Once the partial upper footregion 5 is reached all the functioning needles are forming a stitch andthe dummy ones that are all at an elevated height do not function. Theunique ability of the current invention to cancel the action of thepickers without interfering with the needles in any way in addition tothe provision of dummy needles, allows the continuous and seamlessproduction of the partial upper foot region from the toe region inaddition to providing the ability of reducing or increasing the lengthof the fabric in the foot dependant on the number of courses and lengthrequired, again without interfering with the primary programming of theknitting machine. The novel method of the invention also provides theability to produce the foot region of any required length. The heelregion of the garment is produced by effectively reversing the operationof the toe and can again be prepared in a seamless fashion to produce anentire garment in one continuous operation. And by varying the length ofthe partial upper foot a range of garments of varying sizes can beproduced

EXAMPLE 2

If the improved garment of the invention requires specific formation ofa toe pocket this can be easily accomplished by using the back leftpickers to pick up one stitch into memory cancelling one and the backright pickers picking up one and cancelling another and the frontpickers picking down two from left, picking down two from right,cancelling two and accordingly working intermittent with the backpickers to allow the production of a double length of toe therebyforming a toe of a particular shape in accordance with the programmingof the cancellation mechanisms. In the production of the heel regionwhere a smaller heel pocket will be required the cancellation mechanismcan be used to produce a slower reduction in the number of stitchesthereby producing a smaller pocket.

In addition to the versatility of the modified knitting machine of theinvention in the preparation of a heel and/or toe region of particularsizes and shapes as required the ability to cancel the front and backpickers without altering the programming of the machine allows theproduction of the partial upper foot region 5 to be exercised at will inorder to produce a partial upper foot 5 of any length as is required inorder to provide a range of garment sizes for various fittings. Theunique ability of the invention to provide such a range of garmentconfigurations provides clear advantages in manufacture not only interms of efficiency but also in terms of the quality of the end product.

The invention can be seen to comprise a novel construction method andgarment which is made up of various elements of sock design but placedtogether in quite a novel and inventive arrangement with the provisionof an opening intermediate between the heel and the toe region which isquite distinct from the common sock design which places the opening inline with the heel and subsequent toe regions. The anatomy of thisgarment allows the use of conventional knitting machinery, albeit thatsuch machinery of course must be adjusted and operated in a differentsequence to allow the novel construction of the garment of theinvention.

In constructing the garment, another aspect of the invention is themethod of manufacture of the sock as previously described where the heelregion of the garment is formed at the beginning of the constructionwith the stitching being performed to construct the heel one followed bythe heel two section forming the heel pocket 1. The sole of the garmentand partial upper foot are then formed followed by the toe one and toetwo section finally resulting in the formation of the fully shapedgarment. The garment is then finished by the elastic finishing of theheel top and toe top regions using conventional methods.

The method of manufacture may reverse the above described stepsbeginning with the toe region and moving across the sole to the heelregion.

The garment of the invention can be manufactured out of a wide range ofmaterials including normal pantyhose and sheer hosiery materials as arecommonly used in the prior art garments or alternatively, the garmentcan be formed by any of the normal materials used in the weaving andknitting of socks in order to provide a more substantial garment forexample; yarns, wool, cotton, natural and synthetics. The garment can beknitted in a selection of styles including plain and terry towelling.One clear advantage of the current invention is the provision of a fullyshaped socklet or footlet which is not limited to the highly elasticmaterial as is required by the prior art and can be constructed of anyone of a range of materials or stitched in a very similar manner to themanufacture of a sock. The invention provides for the first time afootlet type garment which can be made out from a full range of yarn andknitting styles providing for the very first time such a garment madeout of conventional sock materials which can provide full comfort,insulation, warmth and wearability.

In addition the invention provides an improved and highly versatileknitting machine. The claims form part of the disclosure in thisapplication.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sock type garment adapted for wearing on awearer's foot including a sole, a partial upper foot, a heel and a toewherein said heel and toe are shaped to assist accommodation ofcorresponding parts of the wearer's foot respectively, characterized inthat an opening for insertion of the wearer's foot is providedintermediate of said heel and toe and wherein said garment is formed inone seamless knitted continuum to form one piece, and wherein said heelincludes a heel one section formed by a picking up stitching and a heeltwo section formed by alternate picking up and picking down stitch withheel one and heel two sections being seamlessly and continuously joinedand separated by a picking line so formed and a toe two section formedby alternate pick up and pick down stitching and a toe one sectionformed by pick up stitching with toe two and one sections beingseamlessly and continuously joined and separated by a picking line soformed and both heel and toe seamlessly and continuously joined to saidsole region.
 2. A garment according to claim 1 wherein the regions ofsaid heel and toe are shaped into pockets.
 3. A garment according toclaim 2 wherein said partial upper foot is elongate and formed adjacentsaid sole.
 4. A garment according to claim 1 wherein said opening isformed across said heel top, toe top and partial upper foot.
 5. Agarment according to claim 1 wherein said heel one section is ofsufficient size to substantially cover the wearer's heel and said toeone section is selected from a partial toe cover to a cover for the bulkof the wearer's upper foot.
 6. A garment according to claim 1constructed of any one or a combination of materials including yarns,wool, cotton, and spantex from natural and synthetic materials.
 7. Asock type garment adapted for wearing on a wearer's foot including asole, a partial upper foot, a heel and a toe wherein said heel and toeare shaped to assist accommodation of corresponding parts of thewearer's foot respectively characterized in that an opening forinsertion of the wearer's foot is provided intermediate of said heel andtoe, wherein said garment is formed in one seamless knitted continuum toform one piece, and wherein said opening has an elastic means fitted tosaid heel top and toe top region, and wherein said elastic means isknitted integrally with said garment, and wherein said elastic means isformed across the top regions of said toe and heel and tapers away alongsaid partial upper foot.
 8. A method of manufacturing a sock typegarment adapted for wearing on a wearer's foot including a sole, apartial upper foot, a heel and a toe wherein said heel and toe areshaped to assist accommodation of corresponding parts of the wearer'sfoot respectively characterized in that an opening for insertion of thewearer's foot is provided intermediate of said heel and toe, whereinsaid garment is formed in one seamless knitted continuum to form onepiece, and wherein said heel includes a heel one section formed by apicking up stitching and a heel two section formed by alternate pickingup and picking down stitch with heel one and heel two sections beingseamlessly and continuously joined and separated by a picking line soformed and a toe two section formed by alternate pick up and pick downstitching and a toe one section formed by pick up stitching with toe twoand one sections being seamlessly and continuously joined and separatedby a picking line so formed and both heel and toe seamlessly andcontinuously joined to said sole region, and including the use of aknitting machine to form the heel region of said garment beginning withthe formation of the heel one section by pick up stitching thentransferring to heel two section by alternate pick up and pick downstitching, the sole and upper partial foot one then formed continuouswith said heel region followed by the formation of the toe two sectionby pick up and pick down stitching then transferring to toe one sectionby pick up stitching only.
 9. A method according to claim 8 beginningwith the toe region and finishing with the heel region.
 10. A methodaccording to claim 9 wherein said garment is finished by knitting ashaped elastic ridge over the heel and toe top region wherein said ridgeis formed as an integral part of the knitting of the garment withtransfer needle selection only.
 11. A method of manufacture according toclaim 8 including the use of a knitting machine wherein the toe onesection of the garment is formed with the back pickers of said machinein action and by selective cancellation of said back pickers so as toform the required number of pick up stitches with a progressivedecrease, the toe two section of the garment is then formed continuouslytherewith with the front pickers of said machine in action and byselective cancellation returning selective needles held in memoryproviding an alternate preparation of stitching progressively addingrows until the toe region is fully shaped and formed, the back pickersand front pickers are then cancelled to form the partial upper foot andsole as a continuum of the toe region, when the partial upper foot andsole is of sufficient length the back pickers are brought into action toselectively place needles in memory providing stitches in a progressivedecrease to form the heel two section, the front pickers then activatewith selective cancellation to form progressive stitching to form a heelregion wherein said toe region, foot and sole and heel region are formedas one continuous and seamless operation.
 12. A method of manufactureaccording to claim 11 wherein said machine is provided with a number ofdummy needles.
 13. A knitting machine including a rotatable cylinderhaving mounted a series of closely spaced needles located in annularslots, said machine being provided with needle knitting cams and atleast one back picker for placing selected needles into memory, at leastone front picker for returning needles from memory characterized inhaving cancellation means to selectively cancel the function of saidback picker and said front picker within a cycle.
 14. A knitting machineaccording to claim 13 wherein a back cancellation means is provided tocancel the function of said back picker and a front cancellation meansis provided to cancel the function of said front picker.
 15. A knittingmachine according to claim 14 wherein said back cancellation means actsby lifting the picker needle arm of said back picker away frominteraction with said needles.
 16. A knitting machine according to claim14 wherein said front cancellation means acts by lowering the pickerneedle arm of said front picker away from interaction with said needles.17. A knitting machine according to claim 13 including a selection ofdummy needles.
 18. A knitting machine according to claim 13 including aprogrammable switching means for controlling the function of saidcancellation means.
 19. A knitting machine including a rotatablecylinder having mounted a series of closely spaced needles located inannular slots, said machine being provided with needle knitting cams andat least one back picker for placing selected needles into memory, atleast one front picker for returning needles from memory characterizedin having cancellation means to selectively cancel the function of saidback picker or said front picker within a cycle.